Leah Garchik

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Published
4:00 am PDT, Thursday, October 4, 2007

Before his Monday Lunch author's talk, ad man and mega-media buyer David Verklin, whose book is "Watch This Listen Up Click Here," chatted with former ad man Bob Sproulabout another of their ilk, retired from advertising toils and nowadays presiding over a Spinning class. He's changed the classical music backdrop to hip-hop, and at the end of each class, he serves Bloody Marys. There's always a better way to make the medicine go down, and that's a big part of an ad man's life.

Verklin is CEO of Carat Americas and chairman of Carat Asia Pacific, companies that buy media for an array of other companies, including Procter & Gamble (the biggest advertiser in the country), Motorola, Hyundai and Gap. His presentation was studded with facts and figures, punctuated by questions directly posed to his listeners, whose names Verklin was apparently reading off their place cards. This personalizing, keeping listeners on their toes by referring to them as individuals, was a variation of the main thrust of his take on modern advertising. As stated in his book, "We're moving into the age of relevance. People don't hate ads, they hate irrelevant discussion."

So while TV advertisers may waste money flogging products interesting to limited audiences (10 percent of Americans have dentures; Poligrip ads are irrelevant to 90 percent of TV viewers), advertisers who use computers can focus. Every time you Google something, the ads that show up along with the listings have been selected for you by an electronic process that has kept track of your every computer move.

The future will bring targeted ads ("intent-based marketing" is the term) on TVs that keep track of what you watch; ads embedded in kids' games, inside TV shows, at points of purchase. Only about 15 percent of computer users are aware they're being monitored. Most people are comfortable with others monitoring "where we've gone on the Web, but uncomfortable with what we've watched on TV," the ad man acknowledges - but this is the way it's going to go.

Verklin's spiel was dazzling and punctuated with stats. Every time he mentioned a production company, a high-tech group, a gaming outfit, he reeled off its numbers: when it was founded, when it was sold and for how much. We were putty in his hands.

Twiddling your thumbs while waiting for Opening Day 2008? Take a look, as Lorraine Honigdid, at "Vamos Gigantes," a new 10-by-100-foot mural on the front of a PG&E substation on 19th between Mission and Valencia. It was designed and painted by 12 artists from the Precita Eyes muralist group, including three youth apprentices, and the subject is the San Francisco Giants and in particular, Latino players. Its words, in English and in Spanish: "All of us are created equal/ Some of us grow up to be Giants." Precita Eyes celebrates its 30th anniversary Oct. 20 at Project Artaud.

P.S. Ed Epstein sends word of EternalImage.net, where official major-league urns and coffins are for sale. Only eight teams are so far represented, but the company promises to have final resting places available for both Giants and A's fans in 2008.

And in keeping with that: Sandra Halladey reports that upon receiving the first-ever Mayor's Art Award from Mayor Gavin Newsomand the San Francisco Arts Commission on Monday, Ruth Asawamade the shortest acceptance speech anyone could remember: "Thank you, San Francisco, for all you've done for the arts. I hope you do more."

P.S.: The Marine Mammal Center gave out educational materials at a lunch at McCormick & Kuleto's Shuck & Swallow, and at the end of the event, the cash donation box on the table contained a walloping total of $3.85. That same afternoon, the center learned it would receive a $1.3 million grant from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund. The group's fundraising gala Oct.17 at City Hall will help build a new facility.

-- The week's saddest tale must be the one behind the brand-new tags-still-on Vera Wangwedding dress and veil in the window of the Junior League Next-to-New shop on Fillmore Street. The price is $1,400.

-- Joan Libmanspotted the sign in the window of a Monterey Heights house: "Extra! Sun Sighted West O' Twin Peaks." Let's hope it holds for the weekend. See you in the park.

Public eavesdropping

"I can honestly say that the last time I smoked dope, I was on the White House staff."

Overheard outside the conference room of a local foundation by Jan Masaoka